The international drug ring that moved millions of dollars worth of cocaine from Peru to Hudson and Essex counties did it by converting the drug into liquid form and disguising it as lotions, shampoos and other items, prosecutors say.

"This is the first time that we have seen this type of cocaine smuggling," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said today, a day after six of the accused appeared in court via videolink from the Hudson County jail in Kearny.

The ring, he said, may have moved as much as several hundred pounds of cocaine into the counties.

"It was a sophisticated drug smuggling network and it took a sophisticated joint investigation to take it down," DeFazio said.

A 16-month probe led to this week's arrest of 18 people, including three Kearny men. In addition, police seized two kilos of cocaine valued at $150,000, a handgun, and $30,000, DeFazio said.

The ring had made trial runs and deliveries from Peru to "hubs" in the United States over several months to perfect its methods, DeFazio said. Members worked to avoid detection by using the elaborate method of chemically masking the cocaine for shipment via airliners, boats and mail, DeFazio said.

One of the suspected leaders, Jose F. Castro, 34, of Belleville, is believed to have held the "proprietary" conversion formula and recently traveled from Peru to convert a shipment of cocaine, DeFazio alleged.

Using the technique, the cocaine "gel" was transformed into a quality powder cocaine, he said.

DeFazio said that to his knowledge none of the shipments was discovered through U.S. Customs enforcement inspections due to the chemical masking technique.

The investigation was triggered by information received by the prosecutor's office and that led to surveillance, DeFazio said.

"We partnered with Homeland Security when we realized the breadth, the international scope of this operation," DeFazio said.

Other agencies involved included the Newark, Kearny and Harrison police departments.

Peter T. Edge, special agent in charge of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations in Newark, concurred with DeFazio and said such joint efforts will continue.

"Using our unique, global investigative tools, HSI will continue working together with our law enforcement partners to identify and dismantle drug trafficking organizations to keep illegal drugs from being distributed throughout our communities," he said.